


I never saw it happening

by yourbuttervoicedbeau (kiwiana)



Series: Your heart is keeping time with me [2]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: 5 Things, 5 Times, 5+1 Things, 50 First Dates AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, High David Rose, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Marijuana, Memory Loss, POV Stevie Budd, Sebastien Raine is the worst in every universe, and all the medical inaccuracies that come with that concept, everything's made up and the timeline doesn't matter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:07:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24369340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwiana/pseuds/yourbuttervoicedbeau
Summary: 7 (+1) times Stevie hears the name Patrick Brewer.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd & David Rose
Series: Your heart is keeping time with me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754158
Comments: 56
Kudos: 226





	I never saw it happening

**Author's Note:**

> This is really not going to make a whole lot of sense without reading part 1 of this series, sorry! But to celebrate author reveals for the main story, I wanted to share a little bit of Stevie's perspective on the whole thing. It wasn't actually meant to be a 5+1, until I realised I had six neat chunks. And then I added a few more chunks, and then it was a 7+1. But there's no existing tag for that ;)
> 
> Title is from Aqualung.

**1.**

The first time Stevie hears the name Patrick Brewer, it’s spat by David as they’re getting stoned in the love room.

Hearing anything from David for the first time is a little bit novel these days. It’s not like they have the exact same conversation every day — this isn’t a Groundhog Day situation — but he tends to hit the same beats day to day. Gripe about having to get up early before his appointment with Ray, ramble about ideas for his store, be all snobby and, well, _David_ about whatever Stevie tries to rope him into helping with around the motel but ultimately do it, rinse and repeat. 

Stevie knew, of course, that some guy was moving to town and taking over the business stuff. Ray told the Roses, and Alexis told her, hands wringing and voice full of concern. Alexis is terrified of David finding out about his condition, scared of anything that could mess up this weird masquerade they’ve put in place. And sure, she’s harbouring a whole lot of guilt from the last time David accidentally found out about his Goldfield’s, but all that proved to Stevie is that they cannot keep doing this long-term. But Alexis won’t hear a word about it, and it’s not Stevie’s place anyway.

The guy sounds like a dick, though, at least at first. Ray swore up and down he’d tell him all about David when he arrived, so Stevie listens to David rant about how rude he was about David’s business and wonders why the hell he’d be so antagonistic. It’s not like David’s ever going to be able to own the store, so why upset him like this? But the more David talks, the more it becomes wildly clear he’s taken the worst possible interpretation of what this guy said and run with it.

Typical.

Throughout the whole conversation, she doesn’t get a name from David until they’re passing a joint back and forward and David yanks a business card out of his pocket.

“Patrick _Brewer,”_ David grumbles, peering down at the card. His initial fury has long since given way to a grudging realisation that he overreacted, and Stevie is trying to be restrained in how much she mocks him over it. That doesn’t stop him scowling down at the business card like it’s going to come to life and bite him, though.

“Oh my God, that is such a businessy name. _Patrick.”_ She exhales a cloud of smoke as she says his name. She’s waiting for David to reply but when she glances over at him he’s turning the card over and over in his hands. They sit in silence until they’re down to the roach and then David leaps to his feet, making her jump.

She blinks up at him. “You’re tall,” she drawls. David’s never been an adventure stoner but he’s bouncing on the balls of his feet; Stevie thinks maybe she should get up too but it’s very, very comfortable here on the floor right now.

“I’m gonna go show _Patrick_ I have a clear idea for my store,” he says and God, he sounds so much like the David who first moved here, haughty and aloof. It makes her giggle, remembering _thrice_ and sheet counts and Stevie is so, so grateful David remembers those early days.

Because, you know, she wouldn’t be able to mock him about them, otherwise.

“Mm-hmm, good luck with that,” she says, making no move to follow him out of the room.

* * *

**2.**

The second time Stevie hears the name Patrick Brewer is the very next morning from a frazzled Alexis, who bursts into the office around 9 am.

“Twyla just called me,” she announces, and Stevie has no idea why she’s supposed to care until Alexis continues. _“Apparently,_ Ray failed at his one job and didn’t tell the new business guy about David, so he wound up trying to have a conversation with him at the café this morning.”

Stevie winces. “Let me guess. David did not react well to a total stranger trying to be friendly with him.”

“Mm-mm, nope,” Alexis says, her eyes wide. “Twyla calmed him down, though, so hopefully Patrick has the good sense to stay out of the way while David is at Ray’s this morning. And… David is probably going to be a bit of a dick today. Sorry.”

Stevie smirks. “As opposed to?” she asks wryly, and Alexis laughs.

“I’m going to go see him,” she says after a moment.

“David?”

“No, nope. This guy. Patrick Brewer. I’ll go see him after work, fill in whatever gaps Twyla left,” Alexis says slowly.

Stevie raises an eyebrow. “Sure you’re not just scouting a new eligible bachelor in Schitt’s Creek?” she asks before she can stop herself. They were never really friends before the accident, and she’s not even entirely sure they are now, but they do, very occasionally, talk about things other than David — which, rather depressingly, does kind of put her in Stevie’s inner circle.

Alexis’ face twists up. “Mm, nope, I don’t think so,” she says, and something in her face stops Stevie making the sarcastic reply on the tip of her tongue.

“Well you’re not the only one who would like to know about any decent men,” she says instead, and Alexis throws her one of her bizarre not-winks as she leaves.

At lunchtime, she listens to David rant about the creep in Walmart running gear who accosted him in the café out of the blue, and she wills her face to keep still.

Later that afternoon, she gets a text from Alexis that just reads _Either newly married or gay, sorry!_

 _Just my luck,_ she replies, only half joking. She exits out of that text chain, sighs, and sends a quick message to Jake.

* * *

**3.**

Stevie loses track of how many times she hears the name Patrick Brewer after that. She hears about him after every one of David’s appointments — sometimes she sees him mid-morning, other times it’s not until lunchtime. She wonders, not for the first time, how David’s mood and tolerance for things can vary so wildly from day to day when he thinks he’s starting from the same point each time. There are days when Patrick Brewer is the worst thing to ever happen to Schitt’s Creek and days when he is apparently God’s gift to business, and Stevie can’t for the life of her figure out what causes each reaction. 

And then Sebastien Raine arrives in town. He’s slimy and awful and exactly what Stevie would expect. David told her, once, in his ‘this was super funny and not at all horribly traumatising’ way, about an ex who displayed photos of a coked-up, naked David in an art exhibition, and Stevie could have guessed Sebastien was the one responsible from the arrogance dripping off him even if she didn’t see the way David froze up around him. Sebastien doesn’t know about David’s accident and even Moira isn’t stupid enough to tell him, so they all figure Sebastien’s presence is just an annoying blip in their otherwise perfected David Routine — that is, until the next morning.

Stevie can hear the yelling when she arrives at work. She’d recognise David’s dulcet tones anywhere and heads for room 7 without even stopping to drop her bag in the motel. When she passes Sebastien’s room he’s leaning against the doorframe, smirking at nothing in particular.

“David always was a bit of a drama queen,” he says once Stevie is close enough to hear him. “I promise, he was begging for it last night.”

Stevie suddenly has a horrible, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She doesn’t spare Sebastien another glance, just hurries past him to get to David.

“What the _hell_ is going on?” she hisses once she gets inside. Mr and Mrs Rose are hovering in the doorway between the two rooms looking lost, while Alexis sits cross-legged on her bed. David is yelling from the bathroom, and Stevie can barely make out the words.

“David woke up in Sebastien’s bed this morning, and David doesn’t remember how he got there,” Alexis says, widening her eyes significantly.

 _“Fuck,”_ Stevie says with feeling. The noise from the bathroom stops suddenly, and David bursts out. He’s wearing a leather jacket and he looks — well, he looks like he got dressed with the intention of getting laid, actually. Stevie wonders what the hell he could possibly have been thinking, and she’s never found his Goldfield’s as annoying as she does right now.

“Fuck is right!” David basically shrieks. “What the fuck did he give me that I don’t even remember him checking in? You told me, right?”

The silence that follows that question is interrupted by Alexis’ phone blaring. She glances down at it, then frowns before accepting the call.

“Hello?”

Stevie glares at her. Why the hell would she answer her phone _now?_

“Oh my God, Patrick, I am _so_ sorry,” Alexis says, and — oh, right. It’s after David’s usual appointment time. “I wanted to call you, but I didn’t have your number. I hoped you’d call me. I’ve just had a very busy morning.” She’s silent for a few seconds, then says “Hang on a second,” and slips out of the room with an apologetic grimace.

“Um, who the hell is Patrick?” David asks before waving his hands around. “Wait, never mind. This is not about Alexis. What the hell happened to me yesterday?”

Mr and Mrs Rose are both staring at her and Stevie thinks very fast, suddenly wishing she’d done improv or something in school. 

“You ran into him in the office yesterday,” she says quickly. That part at least is true. “And he was a skeevy dick” —- also true — “and you decided you wanted to get very, very drunk. So we went back to my apartment and did shots. We crashed out, but when I woke up this morning you were gone.”

It all sounds very plausible. Maybe she’s destined for the stage after all.

David blinks quickly at her. “I went to your apartment? I don’t remember ever seeing your apartment.”

“Oh, well what a tragedy you don’t remember it,” Stevie says dryly.

“How did I get so drunk I thought sleeping with Sebastien Raine was a good idea?” David mutters, but it’s not disbelieving, just annoyed. Stevie lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Let’s take a walk,” she suggests. When David frowns at her she pats the top pocket in her shirt where she keeps her weed, and David’s eyes widen.

“Okay, yeah, yep,” he says quickly, cutting a glance to his parents. “A walk sounds good.”

* * *

**4.**

Stevie expects their normal routine to start again now the Sebastien drama is over, so it’s a surprise when she hears the name Patrick Brewer the next morning it’s not out of David’s mouth but Alexis’.

“I had breakfast with Patrick Brewer this morning,” is how she starts, chewing on her lower lip. 

Stevie frowns. “What? Why?”

“I saw him while I was out running a couple of days ago,” Alexis shrugs. “Then he texted me last night and said he wanted to run some stuff past me.”

Stevie stays quiet, but Alexis just looks at her until she realises she isn’t going to get out of this conversation. “What did he want to run past you, Alexis?” she asks through gritted teeth.

“He wants to help David run his store.”

And that’s enough to jolt Stevie out of her carefully curated apathy. “He wants to _what?_ How would that even work?”

Alexis grimaces. “According to him, it will work when we start telling David every morning. Can you believe the nerve? He thinks we need to tell him.”

Stevie opens her mouth, but no words come out. She knows what she’s supposed to say, here, but— 

“I think he’s right,” she croaks finally. Alexis’ jaw drops.

“You do?”

Stevie stares down at the desk. “David’s not stupid,” she mutters. She’s not good at sincerity. “And what you’re doing won’t work forever. He deserves to know something so major about himself.”

“I didn’t know you felt like that,” Alexis says quietly. Stevie shrugs, awkward.

“I didn’t want to butt in on a family thing. I didn’t think it was my place.”

“Well,” Alexis says after a moment, “apparently Patrick did.”

Stevie can’t help herself. She snorts.

* * *

**5.**

A week passes. The Roses discuss a lot of things while Stevie distracts David, and Alexis updates her by text later. Mr Rose agrees with Stevie, while Mrs Rose is harder to convince. Eventually, though, there is consensus — as long as David’s neurologist is on board. It’s a few more days before Alexis manages to speak with her and in the meantime, Stevie notices that David keeps returning from his meetings with Patrick well after lunch. 

Finally, on yet another day where David still isn’t back by noon, she decides it’s time to meet Patrick Brewer for herself. She asks Mr Rose to cover the front desk and heads straight for the café before she can change her mind.

When she enters, she hears David before she sees him. He’s laughing, and it’s not what she always mockingly calls his high-society fake laugh; it’s real, from the belly laughter, his eyes scrunching up with no regard for the wrinkles that might cause. She grins and heads straight for the booth, sliding in beside David and eyeing up the man opposite. 

He’s cute, in an unassuming, clean-cut sort of way. His sleeves are rolled up almost to his elbows, revealing a nice set of forearms, and his eyes are warm and friendly. He smiles at her and holds out a hand, seemingly unconcerned about a total stranger joining them for lunch.

“Patrick Brewer,” he grins at her.

“Stevie Budd,” she says, shaking his hand quickly before letting go. She doesn’t like the little grin that quirks at the corners of his mouth when she says her name.

“Well, you’re welcome to join us, Stevie,” he says, pressing his palms into the table. “We were just discussing what wine pairings would work with the mozzarella sticks here. Thoughts?” 

Stevie has a very wicked thought all of a sudden. In her defence, seeing David flustered is basically her favourite thing.

“Gee, I’m not sure,” she says. “Would you say you’re more of a red wine or a white wine person?” She’s looking at Patrick but very conscious of David in her peripheral vision, and is gratified when his face twists at her question. He turns to Patrick, trying and failing to look casual.

Patrick, of course, has no idea about the underlying joke here. “Oh, definitely red,” he replies. “I’ve gone off white lately.”

Oh, this is too good.

“David, are you okay?” Patrick adds, concerned, as David chokes loudly on his water. She turns to him, waggling her eyebrows as David tries and fails not to react. 

“Oh, I knew I was looking forward to meeting the infamous Patrick,” Stevie says, but immediately realises her mistake when David whips his head around to stare at her.

“Why would you say he’s infamous?” David shrieks.

 _Shit._ Stevie scrambles for an acceptable answer, but surprisingly, Patrick comes to her rescue.

“I go running with Alexis,” he says quickly. Stevie shoots him a quick look of gratitude.

“Ew, please tell me that’s not a euphemism,” David says, looking horrified and… something else Stevie can’t quite place.

“God no,” Patrick says quickly. Too quickly. 

_Either newly married or gay,_ Alexis had said. Stevie can’t see a ring.

“Have you heard about David’s time at an Amish farm?” she asks Patrick brightly. Patrick’s eyes widen as he glances to David and back again.

“I’m sorry, _what?”_ he says, clearly delighted. 

Stevie launches into the story, and they both ignore David when he thunks his head on the table dramatically. She follows it with another story, and another, and Patrick barely takes his eyes off David the entire time she speaks.

They’re at the table a long time, but Stevie is determined to wait David out. Eventually, he does get up to leave, prodding her rather harder in the leg than necessary to let him out of the booth. He hesitates beside the table, glancing between Patrick and Stevie, mouth twisting up at the side. Patrick just smirks at him, but for all it looks teasing his gaze is locked on David, even when David looks away.

When David leaves Patrick just stares after him, body twisting to follow David’s movements out of the café. It’s not until he’s out of sight that Patrick turns back to look at her, and she schools her face into what she hopes is a neutral expression.

“So nice to finally meet you,” Patrick says, his smile open and friendly. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Alexis.”

“Mm,” Stevie replies seriously. “I’m glad I came today. I couldn’t figure out what your deal was, why you were so keen to help David with the business, but now I get it.”

Patrick frowns, and Stevie doesn’t know him well enough to know if he’s faking or not. “Get what?”

She can’t help but smirk a little. “It’s just… you look _flustered,_ ” she says. Before she can stop herself, she adds honestly, “I like it for you, and I like it for David.” 

Patrick’s jaw is hanging open, but he doesn’t seem to realise it. Stevie likes leaving people discombobulated, so she slides out of the booth and leaves some cash on the table for Twyla. 

“See you soon, Patrick,” she says, as sweetly as she can manage (which isn’t very).

“What do you mean, ‘flustered’?” Patrick half-yells. 

Stevie just waves as she leaves. She can’t wait to see where this winds up.

* * *

**6.**

They tell David. It's awkward and it's stumbling but he doesn't actually freak out as much as everyone expected him to. As much as he did last time.

He wants to go to the store, and Alexis arranges it with Patrick. It's not until he leaves that Alexis sags against the door. Stevie knows how she feels.

“He took it well,” she says carefully, and Alexis smiles.

“He always was good in a crisis.”

It's a long time before David returns, but when he does he looks relaxed. Far more so than he did when he left, at any rate. He presses something into Alexis' hand.

“Can you make a copy of this for Patrick Brewer, please?” he asks, removing his hand to reveal the key to the store. “He's going to be my business partner.”

“Just like that?” Stevie can't help but ask, and David just shrugs at her.

“I have a good feeling about him.”

The next day David comes home with a beautiful journal and a polaroid camera, both courtesy of Patrick. Stevie's a little annoyed she didn't think of that.

* * *

**7.**

Over a week later, David pops his head into the office just after she arrives.

“Is my dad here?” he asks quietly, and when Stevie shakes her head he comes all the way inside, closing the door carefully behind him. He's holding the journal Patrick bought him, turning it over and over in his hands. Stevie raises an eyebrow and waits him out.

“Tell me about Patrick Brewer,” he blurts out finally.

Stevie frowns. “What do you want to know that you haven't already written down?”

Flip, flip, flip goes the book.

“I wrote six and a half pages about him last night.”

“Is that a euphemism?” Stevie can't help but ask, waggling her eyebrows dramatically, and David — David _flushes._

“Oh my God, you didn't!” she yells, far louder than she should have. David shakes his head quickly.

“No,” he says quickly. “Well, not— we just kissed, apparently.” 

Stevie whistles. “Go Patrick,” she says, almost under her breath. David looks at her.

“So he's — he's nice, then?” he asks cautiously.

“Far too nice for his own good. I think you'll be good for each other,” Stevie replies, brutally honest as always.

“Oh,” David says softly. They're quiet for a long time before he finally adds, “So this nice journal is going to wind up full in a week, at this rate.”

She doesn't know if he's angling for something, and she doesn't care. Mr Rose can take care of the desk for the day. “All right, come on,” she says. “We're going to Elmdale.”

* * *

**+1 **

The last time Stevie hears the name Patrick Brewer is in a beautifully decorated Town Hall, on a day where nothing goes right and yet is somehow perfect.

On paper, getting married when you have Goldfield’s Syndrome sounds impossible. But when Stevie sees the look on his face during Patrick’s vows, she knows that David finally has everything he deserves.

On paper, getting married to someone with Goldfield’s Syndrome sounds insane. But if anyone has the patience and the fortitude to make someone — make _David_ — fall in love with them every day, it’s the newly minted Patrick Brewer-Rose. 

Stevie always knew she liked this for them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Come and find me on [Tumblr](http://yourbuttervoicedbeau.tumblr.com).


End file.
